Islamists Threaten to Assassinate French President

Al-Qaeda linked group vows Jihad against France for sending troops into Mali last year to root-out terrorists.

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Tova Dvorin, 24/03/14 17:52

French President Francois Hollande

Reuters

An Al Qaeda linked group has called to assassinate French president Francois Hollande, according to terrorism monitoring group SITE, as revenge for France's interventions in Africa.

The al-Minbar Jihadi Media Network, an Islamist terrorist web site, has called for Muslims worldwide to stage attacks in France and on French institutions and interests in support of the Muslim Jihad against Christianity.

"Supporting them is an easy matter for every honest and loyal person, because the embassies of France fill the lands of the Muslims, not to mention the lions of our Ummah who live in the West," al-Minbar said in a message.

"To our lone wolves in France, assassinate the president of disbelief and criminality, terrify his cursed government, and bomb them and scare them as a support to the vulnerable in the Central African Republic," another message stated, referring to the ongoing fighting between rebel groups in the strife-riven African nation.

"Neither Hollande, nor his soldiers will know peace in France as long as the Muslims of Mali and the Central African Republic cannot live properly in their country."

Hollande has responded to the threats, saying earlier this month that "this is not the first time there have been threats" and that "we are being very vigilant."

A source also told AFP earlier this month that "just because they (threats) are being publicized does not mean that they are new... Sometimes they are more dangerous when they are not publicized."

Paris sent in troops to Mali last January to drive out Islamist terrorists. The operation was only partially successful, driving out terrorists in Mali's southern regions but leaving the country still vulnerable to terror attacks in the north.

France has also sent around 2,000 troops to the Central African Republic (CAR) in support of a 6,000-strong African Union peacekeeping mission, according to AFP. The troops were sent in following a coup, which has sparked bloody fighting between the Muslim and Christian populations.

An Islamic holy war against Christians has been launched in several African countries, with recent reports showing bloody massacres against Christians in Somalia, the CAR, Mali, and Egypt. The international response has largely been slow or nonexistent, according to several analysts.